Elijah Pierce:
Preacher, Barber, Wood Carver,
& National Heritage Artist
Elijah Pierce was recognized as America’s foremost wood carver of 20th century folk art by Dr. Robert Bishop, founding Director of the Museum of American Folk Art. Born in Baldwin, Mississippi, in1892 and raised on a farm, Pierce began to carve at age seven when given his first penknife. His uncle, a chair and basket maker, taught him how to work with wood. In 1920, Elijah was issued a preacher’s license and followed his future wife, Cornelia Houeston to Columbus where he opened a barber shop in 1923. Pierce carved a small elephant as a gift for his wife. Seeing that she liked it so much he carved an entire zoo and other sculptures during spare moments.
He believed God had given him the talent to carve images based on scenes from the Bible. During the 1930s and 1940s, he preached throughout the Midwest and South at carnivals and fairs, often bringing his carvings with him to use as teaching tools. Among his carvings were African-inspired fables, Freemasonry symbols, African-American heroes, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Joe Louis. Eventually his repertoire of subjects expanded to chronicle the uneasy racial and political environment associated with the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, and Watergate. Pierce’s wry wit and keen insight into the temptations of modern life is evident in many of his carvings.
In 1982 the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him a National Heritage Fellowship as one of 15 master traditional artists. In 2020 there was a retrospective exhibit of his work at the Barnes Institute in Philadelphia. After his death, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex recognized his work by naming the Elijah Pierce Gallery in his honor. The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) owns over 80 of his pieces.
We hope you will Visit the CMA to view several relief carvings installed in Gallery 4 that depict political, religious and moral commentary and several animal carvings in the “Cats” gallery. Learn more about Elijah Pierce on the National Endowment for the Arts website, check out these articles from Forbes, NPR, Columbus Monthly, or watch this video (18 min) on folkstreams.net
Thank you, Jeannie Sperling, for submitting this article! |
